# How Bank of Montreal (BMO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/bmo
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on BMO alone. It places BMO (Bank of Montreal) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where BMO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BMO's full trading record, from October 1994 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** BMO has gone against the market, falling 5.3% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank) rose 2.1% and BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is BMO's own: it fell 5.3% over the past 3 months while the banks ETF EWC (iShares MSCI Canada ETF) rose 3.8%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its bank peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank) rose 2.1%, while BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, BMO rose 37.6% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (146% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** BMO turned $10,000 into $39,500 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: BMO rose 89.4% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, BMO has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. The Covid crash took 49.4% off BMO, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. That was more than JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 42.5%) but less than C (Citigroup, 54.8%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, BMO has a correlation of 0.65 over 5 years, more closely than 96% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. Over 10 years, BMO's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.12: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.0 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.1 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank) earned more than BMO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 13.6% a year at 21.4%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MFG (Mizuho Financial Group, banks) earned more for the risk it took than BMO over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 45.7%, against 51.0% for BMO.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 39 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BMO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO (Coca-Cola), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank).

## How much would $10,000 in BMO have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in BMO over the past 29 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of BMO over the same span and BMO's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in BMO at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $282,977 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of BMO, and BN finished highest, at $725,095.

## BMO at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- BMO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 68.5%, from November 2007 to February 2009. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, BMO's best was 2009, when it returned 121%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 52.0%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- BMO is 9.9% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Banks - Diversified)
- Trading since: October 27, 1994
- Market value: $116B
- Volatility (5 years): 21.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −68.5%, from November 6, 2007 to February 23, 2009; back at its high by March 12, 2010

| Period | BMO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −5.5% |
| 3 months | −5.3% |
| 6 months | +10.8% |
| year to date | +29.7% |
| 1 year | +37.6% |
| 3 years | +146% |
| 5 years | +89.4% |
| 10 years | +295% |

## BMO against the whole market

Where BMO ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does BMO rank among all stocks?

This section ranks BMO on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- BMO is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 5% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | BMO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +37.6% | 786 of 3,287 (top 24%) |
| 3-year return | +146% | 623 of 3,017 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +89.4% | 741 of 2,893 (top 26%) |
| 10-year return | +295% | 598 of 2,202 (top 28%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 21.4% | 133 of 2,893 (top 5%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 447 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −51.0% | 495 of 2,187 (top 23%) |

### What has beaten BMO on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Seven stocks and 32 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BMO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half BMO's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 48% less than BMO's 21.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.71 for BMO. DXJ earned the most, 26.6% a year, while still swinging less than BMO (19.1% against 21.4%).
- Among BMO's popular alternatives, RY and TD are in the region. RY earned 17.3% a year against 13.6% a year for BMO, at 18.2% volatility, 15% less than BMO's 21.4%.

### Is there a better investment than BMO?

The table below lists investments that beat BMO over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among BMO's popular alternatives, RY and TD earned more than BMO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 13.6% a year at 21.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFG (banks) earned more for the risk it took than BMO over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 45.7%, against 51.0% for BMO.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 39 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BMO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them KO, RY and TD.

The 15 strongest of 39 investments that beat BMO over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with BMO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BMO: Bank of Montreal (this page) |  | +13.6% | 21.4% | 0.71 | −51.0% | +295% |  |  |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.78 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +310% | 0.73 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| NXTG: First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Technology | +16.2% | 19.1% | 0.89 | −33.6% | +330% | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [DYNF](https://easycompare.io/research/dynf): iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF | US Multifactor Equity | +14.7% | 17.5% | 0.87 | −34.7% | — | 0.63 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Bonds | +20.6% | 18.4% | 1.12 | −45.7% | — | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| ATO: Atmos Energy Corporation | Gas Utilities | +14.9% | 18.4% | 0.85 | −32.9% | +194% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.71 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.69 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 18.4% | 0.90 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.70 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| PPA: Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF | Aerospace & Defense | +16.3% | 18.9% | 0.90 | −43.9% | +344% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## BMO against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against BMO, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do BMO's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only RY and TD were both more rewarding and calmer than BMO over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 11 of the 19 popular alternatives earned less than BMO over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, BMO returned 13.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (21.4% against 17.1%).

### Has BMO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares BMO with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Four of the 20 popular alternatives, led by MFC, CM and RY, outperformed BMO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MFC outperformed BMO in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- RY, CM and TD earned more for the risk they took than BMO (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of BMO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BMO: Bank of Montreal (this page) | +37.6% | +146% | +89.4% | +295% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | +44.8% | +189% | +177% | +373% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.97 |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | +44.4% | +261% | +141% | +395% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.93 |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | +39.2% | +173% | +122% | +352% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.97 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | +57.5% | +141% | +109% | +310% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.84 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +26.0% | +238% | +102% | +234% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [BNS](https://easycompare.io/research/bns): The Bank of Nova Scotia | +50.0% | +162% | +83.1% | +187% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [FITB](https://easycompare.io/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | +29.6% | +151% | +38.9% | +255% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| [SLF](https://easycompare.io/research/slf): Sun Life Financial Inc. | +35.5% | +96.3% | +74.1% | +255% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [BAM](https://easycompare.io/research/bam): Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. | −12.5% | +67.9% | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| [PNC](https://easycompare.io/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | +25.3% | +120% | +25.1% | +230% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.30 |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | −16.8% | +85.9% | +20.8% | +226% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | +23.4% | +111% | +59.3% | +143% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [WFC](https://easycompare.io/research/wfc): Wells Fargo & Company | −2.4% | +119% | +85.0% | +141% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | +1.9% | +82.4% | +16.1% | +132% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | +30.3% | +117% | +17.6% | +94.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [TFC](https://easycompare.io/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | +13.6% | +102% | −5.7% | +82.7% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| BNT: Brookfield Wealth Solutions Ltd. | −16.7% | +85.8% | +5.9% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | −0.6% | +107% | +21.6% | +282% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [SCHW](https://easycompare.io/research/schw): The Charles Schwab Corporation | −3.1% | +86.2% | +19.1% | +221% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |

### How did BMO do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where BMO ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- BMO finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, RY came out ahead of BMO most often, in 17 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BMO finished in the top quarter in seven of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 6 of 21.

| Year | BMO | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +39.6% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +3.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +14.6% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −12.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +46.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +3.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +23.9% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −14.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +15.4% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +32.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BMO has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were BMO's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of BMO's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: BMO fell 46.6% from April 1998 to January 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 28.2%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 19 months, after BMO fell 34.3% from March 2022 to October 2023.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −68.5% | November 6, 2007 | February 23, 2009 | March 12, 2010 | −49.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −51.0% | January 21, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | December 3, 2020 | −32.3% | Covid crash |
| −46.6% | April 14, 1998 | January 24, 2000 | January 23, 2001 | +28.2% |  |
| −34.7% | September 3, 2014 | January 20, 2016 | December 8, 2016 | −4.5% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −34.3% | March 22, 2022 | October 27, 2023 | May 28, 2025 | −6.4% | 2022 bear market |

### How did BMO do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far BMO, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- Among its popular alternatives, RY held up best, falling less than BMO in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- BMO fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when BMO fell 49.4% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

| Crash | Dates | BMO fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −26.5% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −68.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −16.4% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −18.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −23.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −49.4% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −30.5% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.5% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BMO move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- TD took just 80% of the S&P 500's losses, against 112% for BMO, while still keeping 89% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, BMO captured 104% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 112% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.12. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Seven of the 18 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BMO's 0.93, led by JPM, RY and TD.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BMO: Bank of Montreal (this page) | 104% | 112% | 1.12 |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | 110% | 110% | 1.10 |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | 108% | 106% | 1.07 |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | 97.0% | 88.0% | 0.88 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 89.0% | 80.0% | 0.88 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [BNS](https://easycompare.io/research/bns): The Bank of Nova Scotia | 97.0% | 120% | 1.05 |
| [FITB](https://easycompare.io/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | 102% | 114% | 1.22 |
| [SLF](https://easycompare.io/research/slf): Sun Life Financial Inc. | 87.0% | 85.0% | 0.96 |
| [PNC](https://easycompare.io/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | 108% | 127% | 1.15 |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | 125% | 162% | 1.42 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | 75.0% | 86.0% | 0.86 |
| [WFC](https://easycompare.io/research/wfc): Wells Fargo & Company | 96.0% | 129% | 1.13 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | 89.0% | 116% | 1.13 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | 89.0% | 130% | 1.05 |
| [TFC](https://easycompare.io/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | 86.0% | 126% | 1.11 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |
| [SCHW](https://easycompare.io/research/schw): The Charles Schwab Corporation | 89.0% | 90.0% | 0.91 |

### What diversifies BMO?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in BMO into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 21% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+15.7% for BMO alone, +15.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, MLPX and SMH have moved largely independently of BMO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in five of the nine calendar years in which BMO lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with BMO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BMO's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.33 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 9 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.48 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.48 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.12 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.34 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 9 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.34 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 2 of 9 |
| PTLC: Pacer Trendpilot US Large Cap ETF | 0.41 | +57.4% | 11.8% | 0.83 | 1 of 9 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.15 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was BMO's worst drawdown?

BMO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 68.5%, from November 2007 to February 2009. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were BMO's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, BMO's best year was 2009, when it returned 121%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -52.0%.

### Is there a better investment than BMO?

Among BMO's popular alternatives, RY and TD earned more than BMO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 13.6% a year at 21.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MFG (banks) earned more for the risk it took than BMO over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 45.7%, against 51.0% for BMO.

### Is BMO more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. BMO's volatility over the past 5 years was 21.4%, 1.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, BMO's return lands within 21.4% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is BMO's Sharpe ratio?

BMO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so BMO earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is BMO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BMO's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.65 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against BMO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BMO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BMO?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed BMO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MFC, CM and RY.

### Did BMO outperform the S&P 500?

BMO finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +39.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did BMO do in stock market crashes?

BMO fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when BMO fell 49.4% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies BMO?

These had a low correlation with BMO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.33), MLPX (correlation 0.48) and SMH (correlation 0.48); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.14), CLS (correlation 0.32) and FIX (correlation 0.36). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Manulife Financial (MFC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc)
- [Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cm)
- [Royal Bank of Canada (RY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ry)
- [Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/td)
- [JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm)
- [Citigroup (C) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/c)
- [Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bns)
- [Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/fitb)
- [Sun Life Financial (SLF) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/slf)
- [Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bam)
- [PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pnc)
- [Brookfield (BN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bn)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/bmo
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against BMO live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=BMO&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research